Alexandria, VA — Contrary to previous thinking, the Antarctic continent has experienced periods of warmth since the onset of its most recent glaciation. A team of researchers has discovered that two brief warming spells, each lasting less than 30,000 years, punctuated the omnipresent cold of Antarctica. Lodged in ocean sediment nearly 20 million years old, ancient pollen and leaf wax samples taken from the Ross Ice Shelf suggest that the suggested maximum temperature reached a balmy 7 degrees Celsius in the summer — about 11 degrees warmer than conditions today. [Read More]

On September 11th, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) will participate in a focus group to discuss the United Nations’ process of defining Article 15 in the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 15 Recognizes the Human Right to “Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and its Applications” The focus group will be led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Coalition. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is proud to support Protect Your Groundwater Day (PYGWD) on September 11, 2012. Groundwater is a critical source of fresh water for society, both in terms of potable water and agricultural and industrial needs. This globally crucial but scarce resource requires careful stewardship in order to maintain its quality and quantity. Protect Your Groundwater Day—sponsored by AGI member society, the National Ground Water Association (NGWA)—promotes the responsible stewardship of groundwater through educational and outreach initiatives that help raise societal awareness. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Technology is creating a new breed of scientist. I’m talking about citizen scientists - ordinary people and volunteers from all walks of life coming together to help monitor, and possibly mitigate the next big earthquake through an innovative program called NetQuakes. A play off the popular company Netflix - a movie company that allows users to rent movies through the mail — NetQuakes allows ordinary people to volunteer as a kind of host “family” for one of the program’s many blue seismometers. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - Since January 2010, Syracuse University has been bringing lava to Central New York. Using commercially available basalt gravel and a coke-fired furnace, the geologists involved with the Syracuse University Lava Project are able to produce a wide range of flow morphologies and other features at a scale comparable to natural flows. Although one of the most common and voluminous types of lava flows, basaltic lava is still not completely understood. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — A team of researchers may have discovered a way to hear earthquakes. Not the noises of rattling windows and crumbling buildings, but the real sounds an earthquake makes deep underground as rock grinds and fails catastrophically. Typical seismic waves have frequencies below the audible range for humans, but the August issue of EARTH shows you where to find the voice of one seismic monster: the March 11, 2011, magnitude-9. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA —- Through collaborative efforts with other top scientific societies, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has helped formulate a list of critical science policy questions to pose to President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the upcoming presidential election. Many of the questions, which cover topics from natural resources and energy production to climate change and ocean health, require geoscientists and a geoscience literate public to address. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has joined the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Expert Partnership. This partnership is a result of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2012 Global Diaspora Forum and includes top scientific organizations and the U.S. Department of State. The STI Expert Partnership aims to promote economic prosperity, democratic governance, and social development through increased scientific and technological diplomacy worldwide. With the support of U.S. embassies and international networks, the Partnership will expand the reach of U. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - December 21, 2012 — the purported last day of a 5,125-year cycle in the Mesoamerican calendar — has been added to an endless list of days when the world has been expected to end. But what are our real chances of being wiped out by a catastrophic event - the kind that has happened in the past and will inevitably occur again someday? In the August issue of EARTH, we explore four of the most probable global events that could change life on Earth forever. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA - One man’s trash is quickly becoming society’s new treasure. In the August issue of EARTH Magazine, we explore how materials that were once considered garbage are now being recognized for their true potential as valuable energy resources capable of solving multiple problems at once. If successful, these “waste-to-energy” options could serve as a silver bullet - displacing fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the amount of trash that winds up in already teeming landfills. [Read More]